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Board clarifies FOIL timeline and explains $2.9 million in bond principal payments
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Yanni outlined FOIL timelines (5‑day acknowledgment, 20‑day production, extensions for complex requests), reported 101 requests (~15,000 pages) in the past year, and reiterated that $2.9 million in principal payments were made from the debt‑service line across three years ($1.5M, $800k, $600k).
During public participation, Emery Longo asked the superintendent to repeat the bond‑payment numbers presented earlier; Dr. Yanni said he had provided an explanatory email and that the $2.9 million in principal payments were made from the district's voter‑approved debt‑service line over three years — roughly $1,500,000 in year one, $800,000 in year two and $600,000 in year three — to reduce the amount the district bonded in June. "So the $2,900,000 came from the debt service line, and so we made principal payments over the period of 3 years," Dr. Yanni said.
Dr. Yanni also summarized FOIL procedures under New York law: the district must acknowledge requests within five business days and provide records within 20 business days, though the district can request a reasonable extension (typically 10–20 business days) for complex or voluminous requests. He said the district had received 101 FOIL requests involving nearly 15,000 pages over the past year and offered follow‑up communications with any resident who wanted a line‑by‑line explanation.
